


American Dragon

by Rivendell101



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Gen, american dragon au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 07:55:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20597339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rivendell101/pseuds/Rivendell101
Summary: “So what you’re saying,” Sweet Pea starts skeptically, crossing his arms and glancing between his grandparents and mother, who watch him carefully, “is that I’m turning into a giant lizard?” He exhales slowly. “Gramps, did you put anything funny in your tea again?”Grandpa Ju-Long whacks him on the thigh with his cane and Sweet Pea yelps in surprise. “Dragon,” the old man corrects him, clearly unamused. Sweet Pea frowns, rubbing his leg, but waits for his elder to finish. Ju-Long purses his lips, brows furrowing as he strokes his long, white beard. “You are the next Yuan Dragon.” Grandpa doesn’t look particularly pleased by that, though, he never looks particularly pleased by anything.American Dragon AU





	American Dragon

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the cartoon American Dragon: Jake Long. Originally written for the southside archive prompt: dragons. I may be open to continuing this is anyone is interested in the concept!

The silence that lingers between the four of them is tense, his family staring at him expectantly, waiting for him to come to terms with everything they’ve explained over the last hour. They closed the Jade Dragon immediately when they saw the pale, discolored patch of skin peeking out above the collar of his shirt, even though it was the middle of the day and Grandpa Ju-Long doesn’t close the shop for anything. And that wasn’t even the most surprising part. Sweet Pea wasn’t expecting it the long sit-down that felt almost like an intervention. And he certainly wasn’t expecting them to tell him all of _this_.

“So what you’re saying,” Sweet Pea starts skeptically, crossing his arms and glancing between his grandparents and mother, who watch him carefully, “is that I’m turning into a giant lizard?” He exhales slowly. “Gramps, did you put anything funny in your tea again?”

Grandpa Ju-Long whacks him on the thigh with his cane and Sweet Pea yelps in surprise. “Dragon,” the old man corrects him, clearly unamused. Sweet Pea frowns, rubbing his leg, but waits for his elder to finish. Ju-Long purses his lips, brows furrowing as he strokes his long, white beard. “You are the next Yuan Dragon.” Grandpa doesn’t look particularly pleased by that, though, he never looks particularly pleased by anything.

Sweet Pea nods slowly, trying to wrap his head around everything he’s been told so far. “And I’m just supposed to believe that?” he asks. “You want me to believe I’m turning into a big, scaly dragon?” It sounds ridiculous, even to him, and Sweet Pea has seen _a lot_ of bizarre shit since he was a kid. Growing up in New York will do that. And Grandpa Ju-Long has always been a little strange, but Sweet Pea has always chalked that up to growing up back in China.

The weird, scaly skin on Sweet Pea’s back is probably just a rash from working in the garage all week. And the perfect vision even at night is just because he ate his vegetables while growing up like a good child. There’s nothing weird or supernatural about it.

The breathing fire thing is a little harder to explain, but he’s still not convinced that wasn’t just the edibles.

“Yes, Jin,” Grandma Ying Yue tells him, ever the patient one. This entire time she’s been quiet, watching him carefully and gauging his reaction. The gift isn’t from her side of the family, but she’s known about it for decades now, keeping the secret just like the Yuan family has for centuries. She offers her grandson a small, gentle smile, expression sincere. “It is very important that you do. Becoming the Yuan Dragon is a great honor.” Her hands fold delicately across her lap. “You should be very proud that is has chosen you.”

He rubs his hand across his mouth, letting it sink in slowly what his family is telling him. If there’s one thing he knows, it’s that his grandparents would never lie to him or joke about something like this. Though, he almost wishes they would. But Grandpa Ju-Long doesn’t have a funny bone in his body, and this would be an elaborate prank.

Okay, fuck, apparently he’s a dragon.

And suddenly things start to make sense. The _Jade Dragon_. The amulet his grandfather always wears. How hushed they all used to become when he was younger, like he was walking in on a secret. Apparently, he had been.

Sweet Pea turns to his mother. “Do you turn into a flying lizard, too?” Grandpa Ju-Long makes a low, disapproving noise at his choice of words, but Sweet Pea ignores him, gaze firmly on his mother. If she’s been hiding that from him for the last twenty years, he’ll be impressed.

Mei Hua shakes her head. “It skipped my generation,” she explains to him. “I never transformed the way you will. The way most of our family has.” Her expression becomes melancholic and he nods slowly, fiddling with the bracelet around his wrist.

“We thought it would skip yours, too,” Ju-Long tells him, his fingers tapping against the side of his cane rhythmically. “You are a late bloomer. You should have showed signs years ago.” He looks Sweet Pea up and down slowly, nodding to himself. “We will have to begin your training immediately.” The old man rises from his seat and sighs. “But now, we have tea.”

His eyes narrow. “Training?” Sweet Pea calls after his grandfather. “Training for what?” As usual, he doesn’t get a response. He turns to his mother and grandmother instead, but they only shake their heads, offering him no further explanation. Sweet Pea sighs again, his head dropping back to rest against the wall. For a second, he closes his eyes, just letting the absurdity of it all sink in. “Cool,” Sweet Pea says eventually, cracking open his eyes. “Anything else I should know?” Things can’t possibly get any weirder.

His mother nods towards the old, white Chow Chow sleeping beside her on the couch, legs twitching as he snores obnoxiously. “Bai is over one hundred years old,” she tells him, running her fingers through the dog’s fluffy fur. “And he can talk.”

Sweet Pea nods slowly. “Of course he can.” Sweet Pea shoves away from the wall he was leaning against and glances at his family again. “Okay, well, good talk.” He offers them a tight smile before grabbing his jacket and heading for the door.

“Jin, where are you going?” his mother calls after him, standing from her chair. She frowns when he doesn’t stop, but Sweet Pea doesn’t look back.

He fishes his keys out of his pocket. “I’m going to go scream on the roof,” he calls back to them, unlocking the door. The apartment feels more suffocating than it ever has before, and he needs to not be here right now. How the hell is he going to explain all of this to Fangs and Toni?

Grandma Yue smiles and waves at his retreating form. “Have fun!”

The doors slams shut with a little more force than he intended and he winces, knowing his mother won’t be happy about that. The hot, afternoon air wraps around him and Sweet Pea squeezes his eyes shut, losing himself in the familiar noise of the city around him.

When forces his eyes open again, they’re burning gold. He runs his hand through his hair in frustration, and the sigh that slips from him creates a flame. It licks at his fingers and he gasps, jolting backwards and slamming into the brick wall at his back.

It takes a minute for his heart to slow again.

“Holy shit,” he murmurs, “I’m the American Dragon.”


End file.
